Dead-End High

By Richard Pinkerton

Adam returns to Pungaru High (a mid North Island school in New Zealand) after being seriously ill in hospital for several weeks and on his way notices a strange woman who seems to be watching him. Little does he realise the bizarre occurrences he will face, because of her appearance.

At school he learns a wacky new principal – Mr Vennie is now in charge due to the sudden stand down of the previous principal under controversial circumstances. He makes bizarre rule changes including cancellation of maths classes and inclusion of computer games classes. Adam also learns that one of his best friends – Doug, has gone missing.

More students go missing and it seems entire families too. Adam, does some investigating and discovers there appears to be a plot against him. The deeper he digs, the more disturbing truths he uncovers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Pinkerton
• Release date: Oct 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370970919

Richard Pinkerton

I am in my early 50s and have been writing now since I was 12. I prefer to write light-hearted drama but have written a little fantasy horror and science fiction too.I have an entire series of high school novels (19 of them so far) set in New Zealand (The Mob from TAC series), which I will gradually publish if there is a demand.I prefer to use a mix of quirky and outrageous characters you would never come across in reality and also your every day Joes.My writings are aimed at teenagers mainly, but also young adults.I have also written a series of detective novelettes, most of which can be found on my website. The majority require work, to be able to be published here, mainly due to copyright issues.Please do leave feedback or contact me if you want to know more about my books.

Book preview

Dead End High

Published by Richard Pinkerton at Smashwords

Copyright 2021 Richard Pinkerton

Other books by Richard Pinkerton

Time Warped

Dead End Town (Sequel to Dead End High)

The Rex Cassidy Investigators Series

The Mob from TAC series

1. The Mob from TAC

2. Mismatched at TAC

3. Trouble at TAC

4. Heroes at TAC

5. Scheming at TAC

6. Murder at TAC

7. New Year at TAC

8. Challenges at TAC

9. Boot Camp at TAC

10. Dark Days at TAC

11. Jealously at TAC

12. Choices at TAC

13. Redemption at TAC

14. Vendettas at TAC

15. Aberrations at TAC

16. Final Year at TAC

17. Conspiracy at TAC

18. Godly People at TAC

19. Sabotage at TAC

20. Distrust at TAC

Acknowledgements

Joseph A Comm

Les Bill Gates

Karen Williams

Lisa Robinson

And other members of Critique Circle:

Lisa

Tabitha

Alice

To my son, Nick

who after I read this to him the first time

said it was his favourite book.

CHAPTER 1:

Back to School for Adam Braddock

Adam wanted to run when the woman stared at him from across the street. He didn’t know why anxiety consumed him but there was something about her that didn’t seem right. Perhaps it was the way her eyes stared at him, mesmerised, unblinking. Then again it could have been the pale colour of her skin, making her look like the type of woman who could put a curse on you, simply by thinking about it.

Nevertheless, she wasn’t ugly like a hag and she didn’t scowl. She looked to be in her 30s but Adam had no idea who she was. She was a stranger and in a small town like Pungaru, a stranger stood out, especially one who watched teenage boys from the side of the street on a quiet Wednesday morning.

Despite her age, she reminded him of Mrs Williams, the old widow who once lived at number 23. She had similar shoulder-length hair, although this woman’s was blonde rather than grey. She had that same stare, the one that said, "What do you think you’re up to? Get up to mischief around here and I’ll make sure your parents find out!"

Any child in the neighbourhood was potential trouble as far as Mrs Williams was concerned, which probably explained why she never had any of her own. Every little thing that went wrong, she blamed the neighbourhood children.

Holes dug in the garden by a stray dog?

‘It was those darn kids.’

Newspaper not delivered?

‘One of those brats stole it.’

Dirt in her letterbox?

‘It was that Braddock child. He’s always vandalising my letterbox.’

She had been right about that one but could never prove it. Adam always made sure she was out when he did it. However, Mrs Williams had passed away over two years ago and now he was a teenager, he had long since given up such childish pranks. Was the strange woman across the road a relative?

He hurried alongside the shop fronts towards the roundabout and glanced back over his shoulder. The woman continued to stare in his direction. He told himself she was harmless, probably new to town. Maybe she thought she knew him and it was simply a case of mistaken identity.

‘Adam, dude!’

‘Scotty!’ Adam shoved all thoughts of the strange woman aside to greet his best friend, Scott Hitchens, who jogged across the road towards him. His school uniform shirt hung out, his hair was a mess and he looked his usual scruffy self. Adam hadn’t seen him since those awful few weeks spent lying, close to death, in a hospital bed. For much of his stay there, Adam had been in quarantine, running a 103-degree temperature, coughing, spluttering, and thinking it would never end. The doctors said he shouldn’t have survived but he had.

‘Great to see you back on your feet, man.’ Scott slapped him on the back. ‘You really had us worried there for a bit. Everyone thought you’d had it. You were damn lucky to pull through.’

‘Tell me about it.’

‘Did they ever find out what was wrong with you?’ Scott ran his fingers through his wavy blond hair.

‘No. It’s still a mystery. And so far, no one else has come down with any of the symptoms. I mean what disease is out there where one moment you’re dizzy, the next drowsy, then your head’s throbbing in pain, backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards. One moment your vision is clear and next everything’s a blur. One moment you can hear fine, then the next thing voices become muffled. I’m just glad it’s over.’

‘Thank God.’ Scott moved his schoolbag to his other shoulder. ‘For a while there, we thought we might catch whatever it was, man. Strange you were the only one to get it though, dude…’

‘Speaking of strange, there’s this woman standing over there…’ Adam’s voice trailed off as he peered over to where the woman had been.

‘What woman?’

‘She’s gone. She gave me the creeps, whoever she was.’

‘You didn’t recognise her?’

‘Nah.’ He scanned the street. There weren’t many places to go. The main street of Pungaru was hardly the busiest street in New Zealand – far from it. It was a small country town, mainly a farming community but the cheese factory on the outskirts of town employed quite a few people - Adam’s father being one of them.

‘Where is she?’ Scott peered along the rows of shops, then back down the road towards the more residential side of town.

‘Ah, never mind,’ Adam replied and then a thought occurred to him. ‘Hey, Scotty, do you think it’s possible for a dead woman to return to Earth as a younger version of herself?’

‘What?’ Scott delivered him a weird look. ‘You’ve really gotta stop watching those horror movies. You’re getting carried away, man.’

Adam laughed, embarrassed. ‘Never mind. She reminded me of that old hag Mrs Williams.’

‘The one whose car tyres we let down that time.’

‘That was you and Doug!’

‘Err, yeah, that’s right, you chickened out at the last moment. Bagaaawwwk. Anyway, don’t tell me you believe in ghosts now?’

Adam snorted. ‘Of course, I don’t believe in ghosts! Once you’re dead, you’re dead. That’s the end. Besides, if you could return to Earth after you died, would you choose to come to this dead-end town?’

Scott chuckled. ‘I guess it depends on whether I had the choice. Anyway, you’re a bit of a sci-fi nut too, so you never know, there might be some planet up there where the dead go and party for eternity.’

‘What? Like Heaven?’

‘Yeah, but with aliens and stuff… and maybe one or two of those Star Trek chicks in tight spacesuits.’

The two of them continued on their way, reaching the roundabout at the foot of the hill leading up to Pungaru High School. From where they stood they could gaze up at a spectacular view of Mount Taranaki, the centrepiece of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. Snow-covered the peaks already, even though it was autumn. On a clear day, it was magnificent and this day was no exception.

As they neared the school gates, Scott turned to Adam with a twinkle in his mischievous brown eyes. ‘Daisy missed you.’

‘Right.’ Adam scrunched up his nose. ‘As if.’

He wasn’t in the same league as Daisy Kendrick. He was average looking, an average student, a lousy athlete and came from a less than wealthy family. She liked to hang out with the rich, good-looking kids.

Adam’s family hadn’t always been poor. His father had inherited a large sum of money at an early age. When Adam was born, they lived in a two-storied house in New Plymouth. His father invested money in a landscaping business, as a silent partner, but the company went belly-up when his partner embezzled funds and skipped the country. Ever since then, he had been working in the dairy factory earning below-average income and had never completely recovered from the loss, either financially or mentally.

One of the things Adam most wanted to do was travel overseas. He remembered from an early age, being promised a trip to Magic Mountain in the USA. That was before his father’s financial ruin. His mother continued to promise that it would happen and that they just needed to get back on their feet, financially. When her father died, just over a year ago, she inherited a few thousand dollars and excitedly announced they would be going on their long-awaited trip.

But it didn’t happen.

His dad had suffered from ill-health. Doctors claimed it was due to stress. For months, his dad underwent expensive medical treatment before he finally came right again. That pretty much drained away his mother’s inheritance.

Scott patted him a few times on the shoulder. ‘You know, dude, I tried to talk Daisy into sending you a get-well card.’ He smiled cheekily. ‘But she refused.’

‘Did she ask about me?’

‘Nah, sorry man. Never even mentioned your name.’ He patted him on the back a few times.

Adam’s heart sank. It would have been nice to know the prettiest girl in the school had been worried about him but as usual, she hadn’t even given him a second thought.

‘Why do you get hung up on her anyway, dude,’ Scott said, as they neared the main gates of the school. ‘She’s a stuck-up snob, man. There are others far superior to her.’

‘She’s not that bad. But you have to admit, she is gorgeous. That long dark hair, those big blue eyes…’

‘The curvy figure.’

‘The mesmerising full-lipped smile, the…’

‘Yeah, yeah, I get the picture, dude. You do have valid points.’

‘You bet I do!’

No sooner had they entered the school gates when Darren Melrose jogged up to them. ‘Hey Ad, great to see you back.’

‘Great to be back.’

Darren was a short, athletic type. He spent a lot of time working on his father’s farm and although he wasn’t particularly large in stature, he was fit. ‘You’ve missed a lot of drama,’ he smiled, revealing dimples in both cheeks.

‘I have?’

‘Yeah. Come on Scotty, haven’t you told him? You’re getting slack.’

‘I was getting around to it.’ Scott delivered him a friendly thump to the shoulder.

‘What drama?’ Adam asked. ‘Did Mr Kemp set fire to his laboratory again?’

‘Nah, unfortunately. We’re talking about something far more scandalous than that, dude.’

‘Spit it out.’

‘Mr Bryce left. Quit two weeks ago and an emergency replacement principal has been brought in.’

‘You’re kidding me. What happened?’

‘Let’s get rid of our bags first and I’ll tell you.’

Adam quickened his pace, eager to hear the juicy gossip. He paused to look at the building site of the new school pavilion. Finally, the foundations were being laid. He increased his speed again. They came across the office and administration block – A-Block. It stood out amongst the other buildings because of its size. Students walked in all directions, carrying bags and books. Some sat around on benches waiting for the bell to ring for the first class of the day. Two junior boys whizzed by, almost knocking into Adam. Without apologies, they ran onwards.

Outside one of the blocks, a student was being picked on by Todd Spencer.

‘What did you say to me, Matthews?’ The stocky bully twisted Michael Matthews’ arm behind his back causing him to cry out in pain. Michael was a decent guy and didn’t deserve this treatment but Adam was dead scared of Todd and as much as he wanted to help Michael out, he didn’t dare.

‘I didn’t say anything.’ Michael flinched as Todd tightened his grip. ‘Honest!’

‘I heard you. Don’t try to deny it.’ He released his unfortunate classmate and forced him into the wall of the building, causing him to crumple to the ground with a cry of pain.

Scott scowled in the direction of the bully and emitted a nasty comment in a soft voice, ‘Creep.’

Michael squirmed on the ground holding his elbow, bruised after the impact with the building wall.

His body became transparent, causing Adam to blink.

‘What the…’ Adam stared some more. He could see right through the boy to the wall of the classroom block and he shook his head a few times, blinking again, to be sure he wasn’t seeing things. The boy’s body solidified, much to Adam’s relief.

Scott tapped him on the shoulder. ‘You okay, dude?’

‘I… I don’t know.’ The doctors said he might still exhibit some of the symptoms of his illness for a while but this wasn’t a matter of blurred vision, this was something different. People didn’t turn transparent like that. But no, thought Adam, it had to be because of the illness. It was the only explanation. ‘It’s okay.’

Todd Spencer peered in their direction, his eyes ablaze. ‘What the hell are you looking at? Piss off!’

Adam and his two friends continued to walk, not wanting the same treatment he had given Michael Matthews. Pushing aside what he had seen as his eyes playing tricks on him, Adam led the way to C-Block.

There were six blocks in all, dispersed around the school grounds. Out the back was a huge playing field, which was so large it took five minutes to run right around. When Adam was younger, it took a great effort to complete but these days he did the run with relative ease. At the far end of the playing field was a fence line marking the boundary of the school. Beyond that, the school cross-country course meandered through an area of lightly packed trees - the ideal place to sneak off to during lunchtime if you wanted to avoid the teachers. Adam had never been beyond that boundary without permission.

They reached C-Block and entered the locker bay. One of Adam’s classmates stopped in front of them - Jack Miles. ‘Bout time you showed up at school again, Braddock. You been sick?’

‘Err no, Jack. I just wanted to hang out at a hospital for three weeks.’

‘Three weeks?’ Jack wiped away a greasy strand of hair that fell across his forehead. ‘What, were they running a Star Trek marathon on TV or something?’

Adam rolled his eyes. ‘I was sick. The doctors didn’t know what it was. I nearly died.’

Jack burst out laughing and clutched his ribs through his wrinkled uniform. ‘Oh yeah, my little brother thinks he’s dying whenever he has a little cold’

‘It’s true! I was on my death bed.’

‘Whatever!’

‘Sod off, Miles,’ Scott snarled. ‘You don’t know anything.’

‘Yeah, go bother someone else, you moron,’ added Darren.

Jack departed with an arrogant snort.

Locker doors clanged open and shut. People hurried in and out, talking in loud voices and hard-soled shoes clanked on the wooden floor. Adam hung his bag on one of the hooks provided, retrieved his gear for the first class of the day, then left the locker bay with his two friends.

‘So, come on.’ Adam sat on a bench outside the block. ‘What happened to Mr Bryce?’

‘They say he was fiddling the school accounts.’ Scott sat next to him and pulled out a banana from his bag. ‘Creaming money from fundraising efforts.’

‘No way!’

‘Way! Well, that’s the rumours anyway, man.’ Scott peeled his banana and bit off a mouthful.

‘So why hasn’t he been arrested?’

Scott swallowed. ‘No one’s been able to prove it. He covered his tracks. When they accused him of it, he kicked up a huge stink and walked out.’

‘Yeah.’ Darren nodded as he tapped away on his cell phone. He did not look up. ‘He insists the claims are bull and that he’d been set up.’

‘So why leave then? Doesn’t that prove he’s guilty?’

‘You’d think so,’ Scott said. ‘But from what I’ve heard, he got so angry he quit. He said he wouldn’t stay at this school if people thought he was capable of doing something like that.’

‘Wow. That’s heavy stuff.’

‘Tell me about it.’ Scott took another bite from his banana.

‘So, you’re telling me they have a replacement already? That’s fast.’

‘Damn fast,’ Scott said. ‘He seems to have settled in and made himself at home too.’

‘What’s he like?’

Scott swallowed more of his banana before replying. ‘Pretty cool actually. Mr Venables is his name. He’s added extra sports periods to our timetables.’

‘You’re kidding.’

‘No joke, man. We get sports on Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours. How cool is that?’

‘No way!’

‘Way. And not only that but the rules against chewing gum and eating lollies? All scrapped, dude.’

‘You’re having me on.’

‘I am well and truly serious. If I was any more serious, I’d be Mr Ramsey.’

That was really saying something as Adam had never seen that teacher smile or crack a joke. But then his subject was maths, so what was there to smile and laugh over when it came to that?

‘He fired Mr Bastion.’

‘What?’ Adam stared at Scott, agape. ‘Now I know you’re pulling my leg.’

‘It’s true!’ Scott kept his face straight. ‘I jest you not, man.’

‘It’s about time someone fired that jerk’s ass,’ Adam replied, hardly believing it, as Scott could make up wild stories sometimes.

‘I’ll say,’ said Darren as he continued to tap away on his phone. ‘That guy has to be the most stink teacher in the history of education. A bully, a jerk and has no clue how to teach English.’

‘Wow…’ Adam gazed over at the B-block classrooms. ‘I still can’t believe it. I’m away for three weeks and all this drama happens. Just my luck. Anyway, where’s Doug? He should have turned up by now.’

An uneasy silence fell upon his two friends.

‘Well?’

‘Dude, nobody told you?’

‘No. Is he okay?’

Scott and Darren exchanged troubled looks.

‘What happened to him?’

‘We don’t know, man.’ Scott sighed. ‘Doug’s been missing for an entire week…’

CHAPTER 2:

The Wacky Mr Venables

The bell rang for class and Adam’s talk time ended. Neither Scott nor Darren knew what had become of their friend. Doug had visited